SEX ABUSE CASE AGAINST MONK WEAK, PROSECUTOR SAYS

PENSACOLA -- A prosecutor said Tuesday he had a "weak" case against a monk who killed himself three days before his child molestation trial was to begin, but an effort to work out a plea bargain was rejected by the alleged victim's grandmother.

The Rev. Jonathan Franklin, 61, was found dead Friday at St. Bernard Abbey, a monastery in Cullman, Ala.

A handwritten note found near his body said Franklin killed himself because he wanted to be "a dead memory rather than a living symbol and disgrace."

The altar boy, now 13 years old, told investigators the priest fondled him while he was trying on a swim suit at a department store and performed oral sex on him while he was taking a shower.

The boy, who allegedly had an extensive psychiatric history stemming from child abuse by his mother, recanted the allegations during a deposition. Assistant State Attorney Randy Hensel said that when a prosecutor has one witness saying two different things, "it hurts."

Defense attorney Barry Beroset and Hensel had discussed a plea agreement that would have meant six months probation for Franklin. But the grandmother, who brought the criminal charges, did not think the punishment was enough.